Speculation: Where does Holtby go?

Habs Halifax

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Easy answer is Colorado.

Yeah... Avs probably rethinking their goalie bargain bin search year after year at this point. Holtby for 5 years at $6M would be great value for them. Problem is they would have to unload both Grubauer and Francouz somehow. Or keep Francouz to be the back-up?

If the Avs don't find a top 15 goalie, they are going to waste prime years of their top players IMO.
 

Habs Halifax

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How would an upgrade in goal prevent half our team from getting injured at the same time?

Still in denial that your weakness is in net I see? You seriously think digging through the goalie bargain bin is going to get you a deep playoff run? Avs don't win cups without Roy and with Thibault.

But yeah, you can have good regular seasons with Grubauer and Francouz. Regular season is the same as the playoffs right? :laugh:
 

Habs Halifax

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Grubauer looked good this season, are you going to commit to a long term deal for Holtby (all but guarunteeing Grubs is a backup for the rest of his contract) right before you re-sign Landeskog, Makar, etc? Not to mention, Colorado will be looking to improve their D and 3rd line with some of their cap space.

Avs don't have cap issues and they will also have guys like Newhook and Bryam on ELC/bridge deals in the next 3-6 years. The issue with signing Holtby is they already have both their current goalies under contract.
 

IWantSakicAsMyGM

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Still in denial that your weakness is in net I see? You seriously think digging through the goalie bargain bin is going to get you a deep playoff run? Avs don't win cups without Roy and with Thibault.

But yeah, you can have good regular seasons with Grubauer and Francouz. Regular season is the same as the playoffs right? :laugh:

We're about to see 3 "bargain bin" goalies in the Conference Finals (Khudobin, Markstrom, and Varlamov), so yes, I seriously think it's possible to make it deep in the playoffs without a stupidly expensive goalie.

I also still think that injuries have caused more issues for us than our goaltending. In addition to our starting goaltender (5-0-1 with a 0.922 SV% in the playoffs) being hurt, we've got Kevin Connauton and Logan O'Conner in the lineup replacing two of our top PKers (EJ and Calvert) right now. Unsurprisingly, we've given up 5 PP goals in 9 chances over the last two losses. But, please, don't let facts and reality get in the way of your narrative.
 
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Habs Halifax

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We're about to see 3 "bargain bin" goalies in the Conference Finals (Khudobin, Markstrom, and Varlamov), so yes, I seriously think it's possible to make it deep in the playoffs without a stupidly expensive goalie.

I also still think that injuries have caused more issues for us than our goaltending. In addition to our starting goaltender (5-0-1 with a 0.922 SV% in the playoffs) being hurt, we've got Kevin Connauton and Logan O'Conner in the lineup replacing two of our top PKers (EJ and Calvert) right now. Unsurprisingly, we've given up 5 PP goals in 9 chances over the last two losses. But, please, don't let facts and reality get in the way of your narrative.

Some better bargains than others. Some play better team D too! Stars D and Islanders D is better than the Avs. Avs have better offense. I doubt the Avs are going to be able to win cups like the Pens model. And Markstrom is down 3 games to 1 to the Knights.

But yeah, keep digging through the bargain bin for a goalie that gets hot in the playoffs. You are a fan of Sakic it appears... I'm pretty sure this is on his mind more than it's on yours

Grubauer is a decent NHL starter IMO. Just not going to take you on a deep playoff run unless you have a legit top team NHL team D. There is a flaw in your strategy that you are overlooking. It's going to be a shame if the Avs look back in 2 or 3 years and your goalie holds you back.
 
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IWantSakicAsMyGM

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Some better bargains than others. Some play better team D too! Stars D and Islanders D is better than the Avs. Avs have better offense. I doubt the Avs are going to be able to win cups like the Pens model.

But yeah, keep digging through the bargain bin for a goalie that gets hot in the playoffs. You are a fan of Sakic it appears... I'm pretty sure this is on his mind more than it's on yours

It's almost like a team with 4 defensemen who are 25 or younger aren't as experienced as teams that only have 1 youngster. We have more rookies on our blueline (2) than either of those teams have guys 25 or younger (1 each).

And, I don't think it is on his mind as much as you want to pretend. He just signed Francouz to a 2 year extension, has Grubauer under contract for another year and also has a 20 year old who just led Liiga in SV% and GAA signed to his ELC. Annunen is the future, not some overpaid 30+ year old.
 

Habs Halifax

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It's almost like a team with 4 defensemen who are 25 or younger aren't as experienced as teams that only have 1 youngster. We have more rookies on our blueline (2) than either of those teams have guys 25 or younger (1 each).

And, I don't think it is on his mind as much as you want to pretend. He just signed Francouz to a 2 year extension, has Grubauer under contract for another year and also has a 20 year old who just led Liiga in SV% and GAA signed to his ELC. Annunen is the future, not some overpaid 30+ year old.

Keep trying to justify the Bargain bin goalie. I'm only trying to help you and I'm sure Sakic (the guy you want as your GM) is going to try to address this. He's not going to ignore it like you are trying to do.
 

IWantSakicAsMyGM

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Keep trying to justify the Bargain bin goalie. I'm only trying to help you and I'm sure Sakic (the guy you want as your GM) is going to try to address this. He's not going to ignore it like you are trying to do.

It's much easier to justify a bargain bin goalie than trying to justify $10.5m for a guy whose last trip to the 2nd round of the playoffs was in 2015.

And, regardless of your claims, Sakic probably won't do anything to try to fix our goaltending. If he's shown anything in his tenure as GM it's patience. Doing stupid things for short term benefit isn't his style.
 

Hockeyholic

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Toronto, Carolina, Colorado, Boston (If Rask doesn't return), Ottawa, Edmonton, Chicago, Calgary, SJ, and Dallas could all be in the market for a #1 goalie. Holtby would help any of those teams.
 
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Habs Halifax

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It's much easier to justify a bargain bin goalie than trying to justify $10.5m for a guy whose last trip to the 2nd round of the playoffs was in 2015.

And, regardless of your claims, Sakic probably won't do anything to try to fix our goaltending. If he's shown anything in his tenure as GM it's patience. Doing stupid things for short term benefit isn't his style.

Keep dreaming that the goalie market of $5M - $7M sticks forever.
 

IWantSakicAsMyGM

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Keep dreaming that the goalie market of $5M - $7M sticks forever.

I'd like you to quote me saying anything remotely similar to "the goalie market of $5m - $7m sticks forever". Obviously, salaries are going to go up over time. But, the reality is that there will always be quality goalies available for cheap, whether through UFA or trade.

What makes cheaper goalies more attractive is that a key to success in the cap era is to find guys who can outperform their contracts. Grubauer has outperformed his contract, both in the regular season and by putting up a 5-0-1 record with a .922 SV% in the playoffs before getting hurt. That's great results for $3.33m. Francouz has struggled a bit in this series, but for being a 30 year old NHL rookie, he's done really well this season, while earning less than $1m. And he's signed for 2 more at $2m. Again, very good results for the money. And if they aren't good enough, we still have flexibility to move in other directions.

On the other hand, there are a number of highly paid goalies who didn't even live up to their contracts this season. 10 of the 13 highest cap hit goalies in the NHL this season had a SV% under 0.910 in the regular season, and most of them didn't make the playoffs. Not sure why I'd want one of these guys over the cheaper guys who outperform them.
 

LEAFANFORLIFE23

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Jun 17, 2010
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We're about to see 3 "bargain bin" goalies in the Conference Finals (Khudobin, Markstrom, and Varlamov), so yes, I seriously think it's possible to make it deep in the playoffs without a stupidly expensive goalie.

I also still think that injuries have caused more issues for us than our goaltending. In addition to our starting goaltender (5-0-1 with a 0.922 SV% in the playoffs) being hurt, we've got Kevin Connauton and Logan O'Conner in the lineup replacing two of our top PKers (EJ and Calvert) right now. Unsurprisingly, we've given up 5 PP goals in 9 chances over the last two losses. But, please, don't let facts and reality get in the way of your narrative.

Neither Markstrom, nor Varlamov are bargain bin
 

IWantSakicAsMyGM

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Neither Markstrom, nor Varlamov are bargain bin

It's not a slight against their skills, I'm just pointing out that Markstrom has a cap hit under $4m, and Varly is only getting $5m. Definitely wouldn't call either one "stupidly expensive" like a certain Montreal goalie who TooLegit thinks is the answer to the Avs' "problem" in net.
 

LEAFANFORLIFE23

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It's not a slight against their skills, I'm just pointing out that Markstrom has a cap hit under $4m, and Varly is only getting $5m. Definitely wouldn't call either one "stupidly expensive" like a certain Montreal goalie who TooLegit thinks is the answer to the Avs' "problem" in net.

I think the abs need a goalie upgrade too.
 

samsagat

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Jun 20, 2013
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I think the abs need a goalie upgrade too.

Hushhh, Price is the best goaler in the Universe... and beyond...

He's been good in the last "playoffs", but sooooo inconsistent since signing his mammoth contract...

The guy has tons of talent, but I don't know if he has the level of passion for his sport required to have the commitment to be a great one.

I've seen him play for 13 years now and sorry, but I'm still not convinced.

Great goalie here, no doubt. But I don't share the level of enthusiasm some have upon him.

I really don't see why Colorado would trade for him. Doubt anyone would with his contract but Seattle, big maybe...
 

LEAFANFORLIFE23

Registered User
Jun 17, 2010
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Hushhh, Price is the best goaler in the Universe... and beyond...

He's been good in the last "playoffs", but sooooo inconsistent since signing his mammoth contract...

The guy has tons of talent, but I don't know if he has the level of passion for his sport required to have the commitment to be a great one.

I've seen him play for 13 years now and sorry, but I'm still not convinced.

Great goalie here, no doubt. But I don't share the level of enthusiasm some have upon him.

I really don't see why Colorado would trade for him. Doubt anyone would with his contract but Seattle, big maybe...

I said they need a goalie upgrade said nothing about Price
 

Oddbob

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Jan 21, 2016
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Is Holtby really an upgrade to most teams at this point? 3 seasons in a row of being average to poor in net. Most of the teams looking to change goalies got better performances from their current goalies.
 

JoemAvs

Registered User
Jul 2, 2011
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Holtby is not the answer for Colorado.
If they are moving on from Grubauer due to his injury issues, it will be via trade.
And for the 1000000000x time it won't be Price going to Colorado.
They will be looking at names like Korpisalo/Merzlikins (one of them might be available due to the expansion draft), Kuemper (if Arizona is ready to retool), hopefully not Murray, Georgiev (also wouldn't like it unless they go Grubauer /Georgiev while moving Francouz elsewhere which would be hard to do) or Gibson if Sakic really wants to make a splash (but I doubt he would be available at a price the Avs would be willing to pay if he is available at all)...

The last thing the Avs should do is lock themselves into a giant contract for an aging goalie.
The worst two options would be Bobrovsky closely followed by Carey Price....

Also name the team that would be competitive in the second round after losing both goalies and your top defensive D to injuries?

You need luck to win a cup. The Avs are getting none of it right now. Its actually amazing how unlucky they have been in this series...
Every teams goaltending will look shaky if their starter goes down only for your overwhelmed backup to also go down 3 games later. Especially when you also lose two of your three best PKers as well.
 

AlexModvechkin8

At least there was 2018.
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Holts picked the worst time to have a below average season and head into UFA, though to be fair he's been trending in the wrong direction since 2017. He probably makes $8mm/year with term if he's a UFA at the end of 2018. Instead, due to his play and the pandemic, would be surprised if he got anything more than a 1-2 year deal at the same cap hit (or slight raise) that he has now.
 

themelkman

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I think a lot of these goalies are going to have to take very low value deals, because who can actually afford to take on 7 or 8 mil in a goalie right now? None of the teams that need to really
 

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